An open dialogue between husband and wife about design decisions and, more generally, creating a home we can be proud of.

Saturday, March 17, 2012

CL SCORE!!! Clawfoot Tub, Sink & More!

My friend Lou and I drove way out to the Hampton's last night to check out that claw foot tub I found on CL (see two posts ago). We didn't even get on the road until 7pm so we knew it was going to be a long night.

I didn't really know what to expect. I had asked the seller earlier in the day when we spoke by phone whether the tub and hardware was already disconnected and she said it wasn't. I then asked her if there were separate shutoff valves for the tub and she said she was sure there were - but based on the blurry photos she sent me, I suspected she might be wrong. So, notwithstanding her assurances, I packed my tool bag and threw in my rotary pipe cutter and a couple hacksaws.

We reached the seller's house at 9pm. The tub looked fantastic and we set to work detaching the plumbing. As expected, there was no shutoff valve either in the bathroom or in the basement immediately below the tub. For lack of a better solution, I told the seller that we would need to cut the pipes in order to remove the tub filler hardware - because I wasn't going to waste a two hour drive out there and leave with just the tub. Sort of surprisingly, she said "fine." I asked if she had a plumber she could rely on and explained that cutting the feed to the tub would require us to first turn off the house water and that she would need to leave it off until the plumber came to cap the cut pipes (keep in mind that it is now Friday night at 9:30). She said "fine" and called her plumber - I spoke to him and he said he would come at 6:30am the next morning and cap the pipes. So that's what we did! We used the rotary pipe cutter and cut the copper about five inches below the floor line in the basement just above the junction with the main hot and cold water lines where a lazy plumber long ago decided not to bother installing shutoff valves. Anyway, it took much longer than expected to uninstall the thing and then we had to muscle it out through the narrow bathroom door and down a hall and then down a brick staircase with a tight turn to get to my car in the driveway.

Then we went back in and the seller and her husband said they were getting rid of the sink too - a lovely Kohler pedestal sink in perfect condition with a great Waterworks 3 hole, wide-spread faucet - so I said "okay." We agreed on a good price and Lou and I pulled it out and loaded it up.

Anyway, to make a long story short, I took everything in the bathroom except the toilet (which I only left because Lou thought it too creepy - and I think he was a little sick of this exercise). So, I got a nice medicine shelf, a towel rack/bar, a fancy toilet paper holder and a pair of wall-mount drinking glass holders, all in antiquey nickel-plated brass - great looking stuff. It was worth it. V and I took it up to the house this morning. All these photos were shot today - I was too focussed on getting it out last night to remember to take any pix.

Here is the tub. Notice the elevated "slipper back". It really is lovely - the finish is virtually perfect. In this picture, the legs are off and it is just resting on the lugs where the feet attach.

And here are the feet. They seem to be gold-finish over chromed cast iron. These things are seriously heavy-weight and nice looking.

This is the tub overflow drain cover (with a metal stopper plug holder on a chain) which is integrated with the overflow drain and main drain pipe -- all in a brushed nickel finish.

And this is unusual and unexpected object is a piece that sits immediately below the tub drain - this is what the drain hole cover screws into. I also acts as a sort of more attractive sleeve for the drain pipe going into the floor and a flange to cover the hole in the floor. AND, as we discovered, it can support the weight of the tub if the legs are loose (as they were in this instance). Obviously, this thing could use a good cleaning.

This is the tub filler. It sits on top of a pair of heavy, solid brass 24 inch high legs (called floor unions) which screw into the floor to secure the tub filler in place (I forgot to take a picture of the floor unions). This thing is great looking. It is an older Waterworks unit and it is in great shape - although the finish shows a lot of rubbing - which is fine since I wouldn't want a high polish piece. The sprayer is the best - looks like an old telephone handset and cradle.

And here is the sink sitting on the floor of our place waiting for its special day to come. (Note that I removed the drain plunger from the faucet or transport so it isn't pictured here).

And, finally, here are the two shelves I picked up.

This is the best - this is the shelf that sits across the top of the bathtub and holds your soap and duckie and cocktail and book.